The MoviesMy
first video choice comes from my favorite release of the month and the
recent Dreamworks masterpiece, Shrek. I first viewed this film through
the Seleco Sim2 HT200 DLP front projector - look for the Sim2 HT200
review in an upcoming publication of the AudioRevolution.com.
When
compared to the standard interlaced signal, the DV-5700’s progressive
scan output enormously improved the video quality. Images became much
more three-dimensional and lacked motion distortion. Shrek and his
friends had a smoothness you could only dream of achieving from a
standard interlaced DVD source. There were no real distracting
artifacts at all. Additionally, there was far less video noise, an
effect that causes the color and edges of your images to suffer.

My next selection is from the hugely anticipated Star Wars, The Phantom
Menace (Lucas Film Ltd.) While viewing the much talked about race
scene, I took the opportunity to compare both Interlaced and
Progressive images. In the interlaced signal mode the images looked
somewhat blurred and lacked resolution. The jagged edges made the scene
look distorted and unnatural. Conversely, the progressive image was
much smoother and presented considerably greater color and image detail.

In the romantic comedy "The Wedding Planner" (Columbia Pictures), I
realized that the Progressive signal coming directly from the DV-5700
actually looked better than the one coming from my $4,000 Faroudja NR
Series Scaler, perhaps due to the streamlined signal path and limited
cable length. The picture using the progressive output of the 5700 is
really very good lending great video consistency. Images looked very
good with much improved three-dimensionality and depth. The deficiency
that causes images to look two-dimensional is often imperfect edges.
Jagged or discolored edges due to scan lines and motion related
artifacts can draw visual attention and never truly allow you disappear
into the event.

DVD-Audio 5.1 MusicFor
many years there has been talk of the next new digital music format to
replace the CD. Just the thought of this brings fear to many music
collecting enthusiasts, facing the reality of again replacing much if
not all of their music collection. For those old enough to remember,
there were vinyl records, 8-track tapes, the much improved cassette
tape, and then the format that was billed as "the perfect sound
forever" – the Compact Disc.

Today there are two formats
fighting for a dominant share of the future – DVD-Audio and SACD (Super
Audio Compact Discs). There is no denying that both provide a much
higher resolution reproduction than standard Compact Discs. Today, both
have continued to be plagued with a lack of available software, both
promising an explosion of titles lie just around the corner. In the
case of DVD-A, this has much to do with continued arguments about how
best to protect the software from copywrite infringements. Didn’t
anyone learn from the Metalica vs. Napster ordeal? Let me help this
along, hackers will find a way to break any watermark encryption you
come up with - release some music. Today we are limited to
approximately 200 available DVD-Audio releases.

For many reasons I consider the DVD-Audio format to be to future of
digital sound with player sales of greater than 500,000 compared to a
mere several thousand SACD players sold. Although nobody wants to be
part of a dying technology, reminiscent of the VHS vs. Beta wars of the
80’s. You can be assured that DVD-Audio is here for the long haul. The
only question as I see it is how soon you want to buy in.

When the standard CD was invented, it was designed to contain 74
minutes of music on a 120 mm diameter disc. At the time Digital to
Analog converters were limited to 16-bit quantization and used a
sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. This sampling rate was selected due to the
limited storage space on the disc although most in the industry thought
this was more than satisfactory to reproduce perfect sound. With the
invention of the DVD, there is a vastly greater amount of available
space to store data, close to 70 times greater. This makes it possible
to sample at a greater rate. DVD-Audio samples at either 96 kHz, or 192
kHz depending on whether it is recorded in 2-channel or multi-channel
format, understanding that there is insufficient space to store 192 kHz
data for 6 or more channels. What 192 kHz means is that it is
re-plotting stored points as if on a graph, at a frequency of 192,000
times per second. When you draw the waveform between these dots, they
are immensely more accurate than that of the standard CD, which plots
them at 44,100 times per second, which creates a much less accurate
waveform.

With all that techno-mojo behind us, let’s get down to what really
interests us about this new format – music. Jammin’ to the Doors
classic release, LA Women (Elektra,) and the song "Love Her Madly," I
was inspired by this recordings ability to involve me. Okay, admittedly
I was once one of the 2-channel snobs that resisted multi-channel
music, sighting the lack of desire to hear some engineer play with what
has always been so right with 2 channel recordings. Lets face it, you
have two ears and they hear surrounding music fine, why are we
introducing more microphones and more opportunity to reproduce
something wrong?

My opinion has changed as DVD-Audio continues to impress and enchant
me. There is no denying this multi-channel format’s ability to involve
you in the music is unparalleled if done correctly. And with 24 bit 96
kHz resolution, you simply have more bits to recreate a musical signal
thus a lower priced machine can create an astonishingly good sound. Is
DVD-Audio so good that issues like jitter and high performance DACs
don’t matter? No way but for less money you do get beter audio. Period.

In the song "Riders of the Storm," the surrounding effects enveloped me
as if I were listening to great music on an actual rainy day. Rather
than just blending in with the music, details like the falling rain
found themselves supporting the music rather than blending in, only
confusing it. I imagine this is exactly what the late Mr. Morrison
wanted when he produced this piece.
While in the mood for some slow grooving, I plopped in "Truckin’" from
Grateful Dead’s American Beauty (Warner Brothers). This DVD-A recording
sounds almost live with a seductive reverberant effect reminiscent of
the many hundreds of live shows that they performed. Compared to the
original 2-channel release, this recording was monumentally superior in
detail and presentation. Instruments that were dull and lifeless in the
original recording came to life and had a much greater level of
resolution and detail. At one point I think I found myself facing the
rear of the room, dancing on one leg.
The DownsideThe
DV-5700’s 5-disc transport /changer is, in a typical fashion, fairly
clumsy and can be frustrating at times. I have never used a multi-disc
changer that didn’t cause me occasional anguish. It has never made a
whole lot of sense to me to have multi-disc capabilities. Who would
ever need to load multiple video discs? With respect to audio, I can
see the desire to load multiple discs for an event or party where you
either want random or continuous music, but not so much that I would
ever seek this feature.

Once a disc is playing and you
want to remove the disc, you need to stop the disc, then push the "skip
disc" button and wait for the discs to be accessed, and then open the
drawer to access the discs. In some cases, the player would start if
you pressed the "skip disc" button and waited too long causing a delay
in your ability to access the disc. In some releases such as Disney,
you are not allowed to stop the intro and are forced to wait, and then
restart the sequence. If you try to access the disc prior to this
sequence being complete, the tray would not contain your disc, as it
would remain within the player.

I strongly recommend running progressive scan video to all HD
compatible sets. Progressive scan is a must for top quality video. One
issue that raises my curiosity is that if you chose to purchase a DVD
player with a progressive output, such as the Kenwood DV-5700, you will
have progressive scanned DVD, but if you choose to run additional video
sources such as Digital Satellite or games such as PlayStation2 or
Microsoft’s new X Box, these sources would remain interlaced. It
suggests in this case the need for an outboard Progressive processor.
Much of the higher price of the DV-5700 is in providing high-quality
480P progressive output. It would make little sense to purchase this
over a much less expensive player if you find the need to connect
additional progressive sources. That is unless you are considering an
inexpensive outboard video processor such as the $800 DVDO I-Scan pro
from Silicon Images. In this case, I would consider the DV-5700 due to
its superior Progressive processing. Otherwise I would suggest a less
expensive player and a Faroudja NR Series scaler at an estimated cost
of $4,500 that will run all video sources and provide video switching.
ConclusionThe
DV-5700 may sound expensive on the surface considering that you can go
down to your local retailer and purchase a DVD player for $300 that
looks equal on many sets that don’t accept progressive scan signals.
But if your set does accept these signals or if you plan to buy a HD
set soon, the DV-5700 then begins to look quite inexpensive. Its video
quality is outstanding and provides monumental improvement over
interlaced sources. If you own or are planning a purchase of a
compatible front or rear projection system and are not running a
doubled progressive signal, you are truly missing out. The DV-5700 is
one of the best progressive player in its class and when compared to
the very good Denon 2800 with its licensed DVDO technology from Silicon
Image, there is little similarity. The DV-5700’s video processing
leaves its competition in the dust. The DV-5700 is a very versatile
player. Its transport is a tad lethargic but aside from that this
player is a gem. It was a huge success selecting Faroudja technology
for their progressive scan licenser. It’s the difference between a good
video signal and a great one. Highly recommended.